Vernyce Dannells: I 'member

I 'member we strutted down the street
ass to cheek -- safety in numbers
chanting loud lyrics to a tune
we'd later learn was Ellington's "Night Train~"
."Yo mama she don't even care
she wears yo daddy's underwea
Yo mama unh, unh, unh."

Racing to the next insult
"hate to talk about yo' mama
she's a good ole soul
she got a humpback booty
and a rubber asshole."

Perverting Pepsodent commercials:
"You'll wonder where the yellow went
when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent
'Cause when your teeth are turnin' black
You'll wish you had that yellow back."

I 'member double dutch lyrics tastier, racier
escalatin' footwork, patchwork of rhythm and
sources, rhymes, syncopation, nation building
sisterhood, sibilance and early romance dancing

.A million versions of Miss Mary Mack and Jimmy
Crack Corn, later blues and news that traveled from
distant drums through footwork thrums, braids and
bellowing